


The Space Between

by LeilaSmash



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/F, I can't tag too much without spoiling stuff, I don't think this is what they are for.., I need to stop tagging, I'll add more people tags and relationships as they come up, Road Trip, i'm really excited about this one, non-magic au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 09:34:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeilaSmash/pseuds/LeilaSmash
Summary: When Alice gets roped into moving her cousin to college across the country, a minor pitfall brings on a slew of unexpected realizations.
Relationships: Alice | Tilly & Robin | Margot, Alice | Tilly/Robin | Margot
Comments: 17
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Formerly known as "Chi-Town to the Rainy City"

“Papa, is this one of those times where you’re ‘suggesting’ something that you already agreed I would do?” Alice rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand and sighed into her mobile, knowing the answer before he spoke it. He had a terrible habit of signing her up for things and then asking her later as if he just thought of it. Like tee-ball when she was ten. Or ballet in sixth grade. Or student council in high school. He meant well and Alice knew he was just trying to expose her to all the parts of a normal childhood, but it was exasperating having to explain to the spelunking club in junior high that she was actually scared of being in confined spaces or going into detail about how, in fact, she had zero experience in baking or cooking and should definitely not be put in charge of judging any sort of contest involving such. She once set her toaster on fire so she had no idea why her father thought that one was a good choice for her.

“Alice, please? For me? I don’t want your cousin going all the way out there alone, and I’m aware she’s a grown woman now but she was never the adventurer like you. She’s refusing to let her parents take her and when I offered to go, she just rolled her eyes. Please, love? She adores you and already said she’d be fine with you escorting her.” He was guilt-tripping her, using her love for her sweet baby cousin against her. It was always an effective ploy and he knew that he had his daughter backed in a corner. “I’ll send you with some money and you can even stay there for a while if you like, see the sights and all.”

Another loud exhale and the golden blonde put her phone on speaker, pretending to scroll through her calendar knowing damn well she had nothing that couldn’t be rescheduled for at least a couple months. “Ugh. Fine. When?”

She could practically see him scratching the back of his neck nervously as he answered.

“Tomorrow? She wants to be there early to get settled and know the campus.” His only child glanced around her at the dirty clothes piled up for laundry day and almost screamed. She was currently wearing the last pair of anything clean and had planned to spend today lounging around and doing laundry. Now she was adding packing, cleaning out her car, and cleaning her apartment up to a reasonable state. Not that she had all that much in the way of things, but still.

“Tell her I’ll pick her up at ten am. You owe me one, old man!” She playfully growled.

“Old man? Oof! You wound me! My only child!” She could hear him laughing as she stooped to pick up the first of many loads of laundry. “Love you, Starfish. Be safe out there and don’t forget to call me!” 

“Bye Papa! Love ya!” She hollered at the phone on her bed without bothering to hang up, knowing he’d already disconnected, and trotted off to the washing machine, trailing socks and dropped underwear the whole way. 

  
  


The next morning came rough, dragging the normally cheerful blonde out of bed at half past nine, her alarm blaring it’s angry chirp over and over. She’d packed and loaded the car the night before but still needed to shower and eat something before heading out. 

It took her around fifteen minutes to pull herself in and out of the shower, half of that spent waiting for her water to warm up and cursing her shit water heater. Her aunt and uncle lived about ten minutes away, which gave her just enough time to throw on some comfy driving clothes and grab a bagel on the way to her car, making sure to lock up behind her.

The three flights of stairs she had to descend to her beat-up old-school Ford pickup somehow smelled even worse in the morning than they had at one am the night before, though she may have been more distracted then by the two dudes fighting over a broken shopping cart while she was trying to strap on the camper top to her truck bed and shove her stuff inside. Now the lingering aromas of homeless piss and pot filling the stairwell were bringing on what Alice could tell was bound to be a massive headache. Her cousin better be damn grateful. 

The drive to her aunt and uncle’s was silent, the bright blonde nursing her travel mug filled with tea, desperate for the caffeine and maybe some relief from her (as predicted) pounding head. Forest Park to Elmhurst would take any sane driver fifteen minutes at least on a good traffic day, but Alice tended to live on the edge of legality sometimes and was known to make it in ten, giving her family mild heart attacks more than a few times. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about the speed limits, she was just never able to shake the need to be moving as fast as she could. School teachers could never get her to stop running about, and once she learned to ride a bike, she got a taste of what real freedom was. With the wind whipping her hair, clothes rippling behind her, and her arms thrown out like a bird, Alice never felt happier as a kid than when she reached top speed going downhill on her bright yellow Schwinn. 

As an adult however, she’d had to tamp that down a bit with the gain of her driver’s license and a stern lecture from her papa about citizenship status and green cards and such. Alice was technically a citizen of the States since she was born there but her father had a green card and wasn’t keen on her bringing any attention to them from the government. They’d been back in the States for more than a decade but he was always nervous the government would show up one day and force him back to the UK without her. 

Hope was standing on the end of the short driveway to her parents’ two story brick house, rocking on her heels, looking more like she was running away from home than going to college. She was curling the tendrils of her blonde hair around her fingers, the same bright blonde as Alice, and was chewing her bottom lip nervously. At the sight of the pick-up, she scooted a couple of her boxes out of the way into the grass and hurriedly waved for her older cousin to pull in. She didn’t even say hello first as she rushed to the rear to pop open the camper top’s window and pulled down the hatch to start shoving boxes in. 

“Oi, Hope, what’s the hurry? We’ve got what, thirty hours to drive and almost two weeks before you have to start classes? I think you can spare ten seconds to say hello to your favorite cousin.” Alice called through the open window, craning her neck around to watch the younger girl continue on. She only replied once she only had two boxes left, huffing with the weight of them.

“I know, sorry! Hello favorite and only cousin Alice. I just want to get there and get settled in as soon as possible. And who knows how long it’s really going to take us. I’m not taking the chance of getting lost and missing my first day of classes.” She finished her sentence in the passenger’s seat, tossing a worn backpack at her feet and clicking her seatbelt in punctuation, never looking Alice in the face. Alice eyed her suspiciously. Her cousin was a terrible liar and there was definitely something going on under the surface but Alice was never one to prod people, especially Hope. She got enough of that from her parents. “I already told Mom and Dad bye at breakfast so we’re good to go.”

The older girl stared at her with narrowed eyes for a few moments waiting to see if she’d crack, then decided to let it go, and started up the engine. Handing Hope a weathered CD case, Alice shifted into reverse and began what would turn out to be quite the adventure worth having. 

“Seattle, here we come!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice meets the female Pothos

Coughing, Alice fanned the smoke out of her face, attempting to get a glimpse of what was wrong with her baby. They’d made it two and a half days of their three day drive before grey smoke had started billowing out of the air vents, a stream of curse words spilling out of the older blonde’s mouth as she steered the dying vehicle to the shoulder. 

Now she was sweating bullets while pretending she had any idea what she was looking for under the hood. Alice was good at a lot of things, but she never could wrap her head around the inner workings of a car and usually just took her truck to a nearby car shop to get it fixed up.

“Any idea what’s wrong?” Hope’s voice carried easily on the deserted side road they’d been taking. 

“No fucking clue. Better call for a tow.” Alice lowered the hood, letting go the last few inches so it slammed down. Hope’s fingers were already flying on her cell, and moments later she was on the phone with someone; Alice couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she assumed it was just a rundown of their situation and location. She leaned against the driver’s side, gazing off at the rolling hills that quickly turned into mountains, and had to admit it was beautiful. She could see a little town a ways away, maybe a tow wouldn’t take too long. 

“Said they’d be here in half an hour. The nearest shop is called Daniel’s Muffler and Tire. I looked it up and there’s only a few reviews but they’re all good. Hopefully we won’t get charged out the ass.” Hope ran her fingers through her windswept mane as she sidled up next to the older girl, giving Alice waves of nervous vibes.

“Hey, you okay? We’re gonna be alright. You still have a week and a half to get what? Two hours? Worst case, we’ll stay the night here and finish the drive tomorrow, yeah?” She gently elbowed her cousin in the side, trying to get some sort of rise out of her. Nothing. She tried again, this time with a little wiggle, and was rewarded with a slight giggle, but Hope still kept her eyes trained on the reddening sky. Alice decided to go for broke and slowly crept a hand sideways, suddenly attacking Hope with fast fingers. Her younger cousin tried to dodge away and they spent a good fifteen minutes chasing one another around in the field across the road, hiding in the tall grass like lions stalking prey and springing out to attack. Their antics had devolved into sword-fighting with sticks when a loud honk made both blondes jump and Hope tossed her play sword off into the distance with a laugh. 

“You ordered a tow?” A solid feminine voice drew their attention to the tow cab window and Alice more or less forgot how to breathe. The woman in the truck eyed the older blonde with amusement as she hopped down from the driver’s side. She was wearing a simple tan t-shirt and jeans, covered in grime from head to boots (there was even a little on the tip of her nose), and her dark blonde hair was in a single french braid. Still, in the golden glow of the setting sun, she looked like a goddess come to life. “Unless you’d rather stay here and finish your battle?”

Alice could feel her face heating up and she tried to find a decent reply, anything at all, but came up blank. The only things swirling in her head were a series of pictures of what Alice could only wish to do to this woman someday. Luckily Hope didn’t seem to be affected in the slightest by the grease-covered supernatural being in front of them.

“Nope, I think I’m done beating my cousin for now.” Hope’s words snapped the other woman out of her reverie and she huffed in indignation.

“You were not beating me!” Alice whipped the stick off to the side of her into the darkening horizon and made as if she was going to tackle her mouthy cousin. Hope squealed and ran to hide on the opposite side of the broken Ford, taunting Alice the whole way. “Hope Margaret Sw-”

A loud cough interrupted Alice’s intended threat, and the knockout in denim motioned for the two to come to the front of the tow truck. “So, we’re all ready to go, but there’s only room for one of you to ride in the cab. The other is gonna have to ride in the Ford.”

“DIBS!” Hope called out with zero hesitation. Alice immediately turned and shot daggers at her favorite family member; Hope just stuck out her tongue and climbed up into the front seat of the tow truck, loudly asking the woman of Alice’s dreams if she could pick the music. 

“She’s lucky she’s my only cousin. And that I love her so much.” The curly blonde grumbled as she settled long-ways across the bench seat in her pick-up, deciding that if she was going to be stuck riding back there instead of next to Aphrodite’s hotter sister, she was going to at least take a nap. Taking a last look through the windshield at the back of the tow truck, she could see Hope animatedly chatting with the reincarnation of Rati. Alice sighed and closed her eyes, resting her head against the back of her seat as the vehicle jerked forward and rolled along. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, I know it's a short chapter. But the next one is going to be fun!
> 
> Also, I love the idea of Hope and Alice behaving like normal cousins, and I know canon timelines don't support that notion, but it's my story and I like it.
> 
> ta!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice and Hope get some eh news

“Hey, uh… what did you say her name was?... Alice? Got it. Hey Alice? Time to wake up, come on, wakey-wakey.” There was a male voice alternating between calling out to someone far away and whisper-yelling at her, invading her very graphic dream involving Xena and Agent Scully and a large vat of marmalade. She tried to ignore him (boys were not allowed in this kind of dream, that was a hard and fast rule) but when her two earliest crushes took notice of the disembodied voice, she was forced to pay attention. “Alice, you gotta get out so we can put the truck on the lift.”

“Mmmph..No… I don’t wanna…” She reluctantly said goodbye to her number three dream and forced open her eyes, an unfamiliar upside-down face greeting her. Frowning, she scooted backwards down the length of the seat and sat up. A conventionally attractive dark-haired man in his late twenties stood before her, holding open the driver’s side door expectantly. “Oh, hello there. Sorry about that, I’ll just get out of your way….” 

Alice shimmied past and into the small garage, looking around hopefully for a certain dreamboat but was disappointed. She turned to ask where she might be and found a hand outstretched in her direction.

“Name’s Henry, Henry Mills. I’ll be the one working on your car, mostly. You may see my cousin around here too, though she mainly drives the wrecker.” Alice shook his hand briefly, something about his name stuck to the front of her mind like a little flashing light trying to tell her a vital piece of information. But what? “Do you want me to show you to the waiting area? Your friend is already in there, and I think she may be a little stressed out about the car. She’s pacing a hole in my floor.”

He let out a small laugh as he guided Alice through two more car bays and over what appeared to be an explosion of tools. Through a metal door with a tiny wire-meshed window was Hope, and just as Henry had said, she was rapidly walking back and forth, chewing her nail beds to pieces. 

“You could have come to wake me yourself, you know.” The older woman barely got the words out before Hope ran at her, throwing herself into Alice. Not quite sure why her little cousin was so anxious, Alice circled her arms around her and patted her hair gently. Now that Hope was an inch or so taller, it was a bit awkward, but in that moment she was the little girl who used to run to Alice to protect her from schoolyard bullies and monsters in the night. It was worrisome indeed. “I’m sure the truck will be fine, we’ll be on our way in no time. Do you wanna maybe sit down? I don’t think…” She took notice of the brunette woman sitting behind the reception desk and eyed the name plate, “I don’t think Dorothy over there would appreciate you making her seasick from all your tromping around.”

Dorothy chuckled in agreement and Alice led Hope to the couch in the middle of the waiting area. Once seated, Hope seemed to calm a bit, and Alice took a look around. There was an eclectic mix of seating options ranging from the couch they were on to a couple of rolling desk chairs to what was unmistakably a tye-dye colored bean bag in the kids section. The reception desk front was covered in kids’ truck-themed coloring pages, taped up every which way but straight. Typical auto shop posters and signs adorned the walls, but there were also framed pictures interspersed of Henry Mills and what Alice assumed were other workers and maybe his family, if the one of him and the woman sculpted from Roman marble were anything to go by. All happy photographs, smiling people in cutsy hometown sorts of places, doing cutsy hometown sorts of things.

Curiosity somewhat sated, Alice examined her cousin. She and Alice had always been close, ever since Alice’s papa moved them back across the pond to be closer to his twin brother. Hope had been barely three at the time and Alice nine, but even then, they were two peas in a pod, and as they grew older, Alice felt more and more like her big sister instead of her cousin. They had the same ice blue eyes passed down from their fathers and the same bright blonde colored hair (though Alice’s was rife with large curls while Hope’s laid almost perfectly straight). From the back, you’d think they were sisters. 

But the last six months or so, really since Christmas, Hope had been behaving oddly: snapping at people (mainly her mother), disappearing to work on some project at the library, and now apparently stressing about minor things. 

“So, you wanna tell me what’s really been up with you the last three days? You’ve been on edge and sometimes it’s like you’re super excited and then, like now, I think you’re bound for the madhouse. So fess up, what’s going on?” Hope stopped twitching in her seat as she pondered Alice’s words.

“I’m just nervous about college is all. I’ll be fine. Everything’s fine.” Dorothy and Alice made identical snorts of disbelief, telling the older cousin that she was definitely not imagining Hope’s weird behavior. Hope went on the defensive immediately. “I said I’m fine okay? Just let it go.”

“Oookay, if ya say so…” Alice met Dorothy’s gaze across the high counter and they both rolled their eyes.  _ ‘Teenagers.’ _ Henry fortunately chose that moment to come trotting in, wiping his hands on a greasy rag and playfully chucking it at the receptionist.Turning his attention to the two women waiting for him, his face turned to a more serious tone. 

“Looks like you may have to stay a day or two, depending on how quickly we can get the parts in.” He shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his dark blue jumpsuit, eyes mainly focused on Alice, but flickering over to Hope every so often. 

“That bad?” Alice didn’t mind the idea of sticking around, her thoughts straying to a particular woman, but she knew Hope wanted to get set up at school as soon as possible.

“Normally, it would be an easy fix, but your car is nearing what we like to call... ‘classic’ status. Meaning the parts have to be ordered from different dealers than usual and then shipped here.” He was trying his best to give off an optimistic vibe, “At best, you’re looking at parts coming in tomorrow evening, and being installed the day after.”

Hope exhaled loudly, burying her face in her hands. Henry stepped towards them and crouched down in front of the younger girl, laying his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. We’ll get you settled over at the best bed and breakfast in town, our treat. They’ve got some amazing pie in the diner, I’m sure Ruby has a few slices left.”

Alice watched the interaction curiously; she felt like she was supposed to be getting creepy pedo vibes but instead it just seemed… normal. Hope didn’t look like she minded either, lifting her head to give him a weak yet still tense smile. Henry glanced over to Alice, looking for approval. 

“Yeah, sounds delightful. What do you say Hopey? You, me, some delicious pie?” The curly blonde was up on her feet and pulling the younger girl up with her, Henry shifting back to make room. 

“Fine, fine. But if there’s two beds in the room, I get first pick!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no robin in this one! She's going to show up soon, I promise


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice wants pie

The diner/bed and breakfast was only a little ways down the road from the auto shop and both girls were grateful they didn’t have to haul their stuff very far. Hope had dug around her boxes and made a makeshift go bag before the garage closed up for the night, Henry apologizing profusely that he had to rush off, but insisting that they just had to tell Ruby who they were and everything would be covered. Alice tried to protest and when she asked why he was being so nice, he shrugged and made a comment about how he just felt like it was the right thing to do.

“Is this real? How do places like this even  _ exist _ anymore?” Alice could only share her cousin’s disbelief at how quaint the whole scene was: the diner front had the old school bay windows with booth tables nestled inside, a backset door sat in between with little chimes attached that tinkled with even the slightest movement of the wind, a vintage Coke sign adorned bottom half of the glass door and a hand-painted open sign graced the top. Both women stood under the awning outside, hovering in the doorway as if bracing themselves. Hope fake bowed and mockingly gestured towards the door, “Age before beauty!”

“Fuck off.” Alice softly punched her in the shoulder as she brushed past, pulling open the door. 

The strong aromas of fresh coffee and what Alice assumed was the aforementioned pie assaulted them from barely a foot inside. It was heavenly. The inside was just as small-town chic as the outside, with a two-level counter lined with round bar stools, and built-in booths that each had its own unique upward-facing sconce. The floors were a shiny dark wood and the walls were covered in a toned-down floral wallpaper, the kind Alice used to see in the parlors of the old ladies back in the UK.

Behind the counter was a tall, slim brunette with bright red lipstick and a name-tag that read “Ruby” pinned to the strap of her pristine white apron. She glanced up from the receipts she was rifling through, smiling widely at the two newcomers and motioning for them to come up to the counter. 

“You must be Alice and Hope! Car trouble’s a bitch, right? Don’t worry, Henry called ahead and told me to set you up with beds and some food. If you want to set your stuff by the back door there, I’ll have one of the boys bring ‘em up to your rooms.” Ruby gestured to the back area, near a booth filled with way too many older men sitting practically on top of one another. Alice dropped her main backpack on the low counter, not wishing to part with it, and grabbed a hold of Hope, who was studying Ruby intently with what almost looked like a scowl.

“Come on, I’m starving. Let’s drop our stuff and get some nosh.” Alice tugged her frowning cousin past the counter and unceremoniously chucked her overnight bag against the back wall. She didn’t have a clue why Hope was alternating between squirrelly and angry, but she wasn’t about to let it keep her from stuffing her face with pie. Alice hopped up on a blue-striped stool at the high counter, drumming her fingers and reaching for a paper menu.

“What’s good?” She murmured to herself, noting that while the menu was small, everything sounded delicious.

“Depends on your  _ preferences _ really. Your grumpy friend I'd peg as an All-American burger type, fries and the whole set-up. But you," Ruby tossed down the rag she'd been wiping the counter with and tapped one finger on her chin, feigning deep thought. "You I wager are a bit more open to new things, so I'm thinking…. How do you feel about goat cheese?" 

"I lived in the UK until I was eleven."

"Perfect. I'll put your orders in right away!" She flashed that wolfishly large grin and ripped off the top sheet of her notepad, passing it through the tiny kitchen window behind her. Alice went back to finger drumming the drum solo from that Rush song she can never remember the name of, and watched her cousin finally slide onto the stool next to her. 

“Hey, did you order already? I don’t know what I want.” Hope made to pick up a menu but Alice plucked it out of her hand and set it back in the little decorative basket where it lived.

“No need my dear Hopey, the waitress picked for us.” She singsonged at her irritated relative, spinning around on her stool. When Hope’s frown deepened, Alice tousled the younger girl’s hair a little, trying to get a rise out of her. “Oh come on, live a little!”

Just as Hope was opening her mouth, a commotion in the kitchen caught their attention. Ruby was clearly yelling at someone, presumably the cook.

“Just make the pizza, I know what I’m doing!”

“But if I do, there won’t be enough stuff left for hers!”

“Peter, just make the damn order and trust me on this!”

Ruby came storming out of the swinging door to the back, immediately schooling her features into a calm, mostly normal face. She locked eyes with Alice and gave her a wink, “Ha, men. Can’t live with them, am I right?”

The older blonde stopped twisting her stool side to side and looked at Ruby curiously. Sure, Alice had subtly appreciated the brunette's physique (the girl was tall and lean, but still had curves, and Alice wasn't blind), but she'd tried not to be obvious.  _ 'No way she saw me check out her ass yeah?'  _

Ruby went off to make her rounds with the coffee pot and Alice turned her attention to Hope, who looked like she was arguing with herself. As much as Alice wanted to find out who was going to win the battle going on in her cousin’s noggin, she realized she hadn’t used the washroom all day and excused herself, not that Hope even noticed.

Predictably, the bathrooms were covered in charming little knick-knacks and even the soap was shaped like little animals. She was continually reminded of the little town her father had settled in when she was a baby, when he was trying to put as much distance between him and his twin as he could afford. The size of Chicago had shocked Alice, her preteen mind so used to a place where everyone knew everyone (and all their business). Being in this little town felt a bit like coming home, just without the undertones of close-mindedness. 

Alice finished washing her hands and headed back out, thrilled to see Ruby was just setting down their food, and Hope was trying not to smile at the plate before her. When a chocolate milkshake was placed next to her burger, she finally let a little smile peek out, plucking the cherry off the top and popping it into her mouth. Sneaking up behind the younger girl, Alice put her mouth next to her ear and laughed. “Is it good?”

Hope jumped, startled, and whacked her older cousin on the arm. “It’s fine. Don’t know how she knew what I liked though…”

Alice turned to her own food: a small pizza covered with goat cheese, mushrooms, and different herbs. Ruby was spot on. “This looks wonderful! How did you guess I’d like it?”

Ruby didn’t even raised her head from the table she was clearing behind the women when she answered, “You seemed like you appreciated  _ alternative _ things.”

Hope snorted, almost choking on a french fry in the process. Alice didn't have to look around to see the smirk on the waitress's face. Instead Alice took a second to examine her own presentation versus her very straight cousin. Did she really look  _ that _ gay?

She was wearing plain blue jeans and dark blue tank top with an open red and white plaid shirt. That didn't scream carpet-muncher. Okay, so she was wearing Doc Martens. And she had just undercut her hair. And she had a few rainbow colored bracelets. 

She must look pretty gay outside the Greater Chicago area. 

“That’s fair.” Alice grabbed a slice of the pizza and relished in the first bite.

The two blondes were halfway through their meal when the door chimed and a familiar voice stopped Alice mid-bite, pizza hovering in the air just in front of her open mouth.

“Hey Ruby, the usual?” It was Tow-Truck-Goddess. Alice didn’t dare turn to look, fairly certain she would be unable to resume eating.

“Let me tell Peter.” The tall brunette leaned into the kitchen window and hollered something at Peter before walking over to the far edge of the counter near the door.

“Sorry girl, we’re missing some of the ingredients. It’s a no-go today.” Ruby barely looked apologetic when Alice shifted her eyes that direction, wondering what she was up to. 

“Who the hell else in this town eats goat cheese, Ruby? It’s literally just me!” The future star of Alice's newest wet dream sounded beyond frustrated, a low growl hovering on the edge of her words. 

“Yo.” Ruby pointed directly at the two blondes as if Aphrodite should have already noticed them and went back to inspecting her nails. “Maybe if you ask nicely, she’d share.”

Alice’s pizza dropped from her hand with a thud.  _ ‘What is she playing at?! It’s like she can read my damn mind!’ _

“Ruby I’m not gonna ask some girl I just had to rescue from the side of the road to share her food with me.” 

“I don’t see why not? She seems like a normal human being to me.”

“That’s not the point! Normal humans don’t share their food with strangers!”

“Do you want the pizza or not? Seems like a simple solution to me.” Ruby’s calm demeanor was getting the best of the escaped Amazonian, the unseen woman’s voice getting a bit louder and more agitated.

“Of course I do! I just don-”

“I don’t mind.” Alice had finally found her voice and turned to face the both of them fully, still only managing to look at the waitress. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I don’t mind sharing. There’s more than enough for two here.”

As if to cement the gesture, she held out a new slice from the pan, daring to meet the eyes of the woman she’d been hoping to see again. The dark blonde seemed to hesitate, an internal struggle between hunger and politeness waging loudly behind her eyes. “You sure? I don’t want to impose…”

“No! I mean yes! Yes, I’m sure. No, you’re not imposing.” Alice felt a sharp pain in her shin as Hope kicked her and giggled at her obvious idiocy. Out of nowhere, Ruby was setting a plate down at the seat next to the stumbling blonde and beckoning her friend over to sit. 

“If you say so.” Tow-Truck-Goddess shuffled over and lightly collapsed on the stool, resting her elbows on the counter, head in her hands. Ruby dropped a bottle of beer gently on the counter by an elbow and popped off the top.

“Long day Robs?” Ruby leaned over on the counter by Hope, and Alice perked up a bit at the name, tossing it into a file in her head previously marked ‘That Hot Girl who Rescued Me.’

“Work was fine, picked up these two a couple hours ago, probably the most interesting thing to happen all day. At least the good kind of interesting.” Robs grabbed a couple slices of pizza and began chatting with Ruby, alternating bites with sips of beer. “Will was just being an ass as usual. I don’t know why I put up with him sometimes.”

“Who’s Will? Your boss?” The bright blonde interjected, curiosity getting the better of her nerves.

“He thinks he is.” Robs threw back the bottle of beer, draining the last bit, and signaled Ruby for another. “He’s my fiance.”

Alice tried not to be disappointed; she knew it wasn’t likely that the other girl played for her team, but with the way Ruby was acting and the blatant set-up, she thought maybe there was something Ruby knew but she didn’t.  _ ‘Guess not. Still, she’s nice to look at, and could be fun to be around while we’re stuck here.’ _

Alice offered up the last slice, suddenly not as hungry, and tried to ignore the tiny spark she felt when the other woman’s fingertips brushed hers. “All yours.”

“Thanks.” Robs flashed a wide grin her way and Alice felt a twisting deep in the pit of her stomach. She would do anything to see that smile again, and that was dangerous. “Hey, I never did catch your name.”

The older blonde was still spaced out, trying to ignore the fluttering in her chest, and didn’t hear the question. Suddenly she was aware that stunning green eyes were boring into her expectantly. “Sorry, what was the question?”

A melodic laugh rang out, and Alice was almost lost in thought again. “I asked your name, since I feel weird not knowing after eating more than half your dinner.”

“Oh! Alice. Alice Jones.” She hurried out her answer, a million other thoughts (mostly inappropriate) trying to shove their way out with it. Hope nudged her in the ribs and coughed. “And this is my cousin, Hope. Thanks for rescuing us by the way.”

“No worries, it’s my job.” The dark blonde shrugged and popped the last bit of pizza crust in her mouth. 

Her words rang out in Alice’s head over and over. ‘ _ “It’s my job.” Of course it’s her job. That’s all we are, two strangers she picked up from the side of the road and towed into town. She’s got a fiance, a MALE fiance. Move on Alice.’ _

Her plate floated out from under her and landed on Hope’s empty one, and she looked up to see Ruby with a shit-eating grin, collecting their dishes and looking like she too had a mountain of words trapped behind her lips. Robs slid off her stool and started walking backwards towards the door. “Hope, nice to meet you. Alice, thanks for the pizza. Ruby, I don’t know what your game is, but I’m gonna find out. See you guys later, I have an errand to run before the stores close!” 

And with another tinkle of the bells, she was gone, Alice feeling an odd emptiness making a home inside her. She shook her head to clear the jumbled thoughts and stood, grabbing her backpack from the low counter. She was forgetting something, just on the tip of her tongue. 

“So, Henry set up a tab for you guys to eat while you’re in town and I can take you up to get some rest here in a few minutes.” The brunette had finished clearing the counter and began wiping it down. Most other patrons were gone at this point, the clock nearing nine pm. “He seems to like you two, but then he has always had a big heart, I should know.”

Hope’s mild smile turned into a familiar scowl without warning and she scrutinized the waitress as she started marrying the ketchups. With a bit of malice in her overly sweet tone, Hope posed a question, “What, are you dating him or something?”

Ruby didn’t even blink, finishing up the ketchup bottles and untying her apron. “He wishes. Besides Dorothy would  _ kill _ me. Now let’s get you guys upstairs and settled.”

Alice made to follow the woman through one of the back doors, but when Hope didn’t follow, she spun around to face her once again grumpy cousin. “What’s the deal kid?”

The younger blonde’s features wrinkled in distaste. “Does that mean Dorothy is with Henry?”

“Why are you so interested in who’s dating that Henry bloke? You have a crush on him or something?” Alice was trying not to be a little revolted at the idea, not only because she was not into dudes but because he was at least ten years her cousin’s senior.

“No! That’s not it. He just … seems like a nice guy is all. He deserves to be happy.” Hope was starting to sound like a Hallmark movie and Alice was too tired for that shit. She needed to clear something up real quick.

“Hope. Dorothy and  _ Ruby _ are together. You know, together-together.” The curly blonde shouldered her pack and waited for the other shoe to drop. 

“Oh.  _ Ooohh. _ ” Finally following through the door and up the staircase, Hope added, “Too bad, with the way she was winking and stuff, I would have thought Ruby liked you.”

Alice rolled her eyes; her cousin really had no idea what was going on sometimes. It wasn't until she was halfway up the second set of steps that Alice remembered she didn't get any pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes Alice will keep referring to her as "Robs" until she hears differently. 
> 
> The ultimate goal of this story is still the same, but I keep going back and forth with a couple big details. Don't worry though, they don't come into play until much later!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice just can't catch a break

Ruby gave them a quick tour of the little bed and breakfast that served as the town’s only hotel, it’s twelve rooms more than enough for the small number of visitors they got throughout the year and the few long-term residents that called it home. They had spent twenty or so minutes chatting with Granny herself in the shared living room where she was crocheting a baby blanket for one of the local pregnant women. If Alice could have described what she thought the perfect stereotype of a ‘Granny’ was, the real Granny was better. She gave each of the girls a warm tartlet fresh from her personal oven and the kind of affectionate, all-encompassing hug only a grandmother can give. By the time they reached their hall, Hope’s dessert was long gone, and Alice was savoring the last bit of graham cracker crust. Hope had inspected both rooms assigned to them with a weird amount of seriousness before choosing the one with the smaller bed but bigger TV. The joke was on her because Alice didn’t care too much about telly, but loved a good bed to spread out on. 

She had flung her things on the floor, and stretched her limbs out as far as she could, hearing an alarming number of things inside her crack and shift. Alice had collapsed on the double bed she would get to sleep in all alone that night, her legs still aching from being cramped in the cab of the truck the last couple of days. Rolling over on her stomach, she caught a whiff of herself and made the quick decision to take advantage of the bathroom across the hall. Grabbing her sleep clothes and her bag of toiletries, she strolled out of the room and opened the door to the bathroom, completely lost in her own thoughts. Lost enough that she didn’t notice the steam already on the mirror and the pile of clothes on the floor.

Humming an old Avril song, she locked the door and started shedding her clothes, folding them and setting them on the counter as she went. Remembering she hadn’t started the water yet, she turned around to the garden tub as she pulled her sports bra over her head.  _ ‘Why is there water already in the tub? And bubbles? And a foot….? SHIT!’ _

She was powerless to stop her eyes from following the foot sticking out of the bubbles, tracing upward to where a knee broke through the pile of suds, continuing to a feminine hand laid along the tub side, connected to a muscular albeit lean arm, all the way up to..  _ ‘Oh. Oh this is bad.’ _

Tow-Truck-Goddess was now Bathtub-Goddess. 

Her hair was unbound from the braid Alice had noticed earlier, now in loose waves across the waterproof pillow attached to the tub. Her eyes were closed and the bluetooth headphones in her ears explained why Alice hadn’t already been run out of there like the creep she was being. 

_ ‘ I should leave, right now. Turn around Alice, stop staring at how beautiful her face looks when she’s relaxed, stop following the tiny trail of freckles down her neck to her collar bone, down to the waterline and BLOODY HELL THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH BUBBLES’ _

Alice finally snapped out of her trance, her face on fire, and quietly backed toward the door, grabbing her clothes with one hand and turning the door knob with the other. She kept backing up into the hallway, still topless with her clothes clutched to her chest. Carefully she turned the lock on the doorknob before she shut it, exhaling loudly.

“What have we here?”

The bright blonde nearly jumped out of her skin, her heart hammering away as she swivelled to see Ruby at the top of the staircase, that same shit-eating grin on her face. “Fuck Ruby, you scared the piss out of me!

“I was going to come up here and tell you the bathroom is usually occupied from ten to eleven because a certain someone likes to take a bath, but it seems you already found that out.” Ruby let out a giggle and turned to descend the stairs. Alice let out a string of curses and made her way into her room, dropping face down on the bed. God, Ruby must think she’s a huge perv now. 

She screamed into her pillow, trying to ease some of the sexual frustration that had been building for the past six hours. She would usually just take care of it herself but felt weird doing that in such a wholesome looking place. After a couple of minutes, Alice tossed on her tank again and proceeded to keep herself busy by putting away her dirty clothes and organizing a bit.  _ ‘Jeans, sports bra, I’m wearing my tank and underwear, .. wait. Where’s my flannel?’  _ Her eyes scanned the floor, then the dresser for any sign of the red and white fabric. Nothing.

A terrifying thought crossed her mind. What if she left it.

Letting out another yell muffled by downy feathers, she barely registered a knock on the door, not even raising her head when the door clicked open. “Hope, go away, I am dealing with a crisis here.”

“I’m not sure losing your shirt counts as a crisis.” 

Alice froze. The universe was hell-bent on torturing her apparently. Light footsteps approached the bed and she felt the mattress dip.

“You okay? I could hear you all the way from the bathroom.” Robs sounded genuinely concerned and the Jones girl felt a pang in her chest at the idea that someone like that was worried about her. Alice lifted her body up, shuffling backwards to sit cross-legged before looking at Robs. Her body turned electric at the sight in front of her.  _ ‘A towel? She’s sitting on my bed in just a TOWEL?’ _

Droplets of water were still running down her neck , disappearing into the dark green cloth so snuggly wrapped around her chest. Alice wanted to rip the towel right off and follow the drops with her tongue. The bright blonde was so entranced by the way the chords of Robs’ neck changed the path of the water that she didn’t hear a thing the woman was saying to her, not paying any attention until she felt a warm hand touch her knee. Her gaze shifted to the calloused fingers softly kneading her skin, the freshly-showered woman’s words barely slipping through the lust-filled fog in Alice’s brain. 

“Alice, right? I don’t think we officially met. I’m Robin, I live down the hall. At least I do for two more months.” Robin let out a rueful laugh paired with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, still not removing her hand from Alice’s knee. “Then I’m supposed to move in with Will in some new townhouse his family is buying for us.”

“Oh? That sounds.. Nice.” Alice was having a hard time coming up with any fake enthusiasm. She’d never met this Will fellow but she already didn’t like him.

“It’s whatever, I’m sure it will be fine. It’s just lately Will and I fight all the time, about stupid little things that don’t matter… And I have no idea why I told you that.” Robin’s face went scarlet and she looked away. She went to pull her hand away, but Alice’s own shot out to catch it, wrapping her fingers around Robin’s. 

“It’s alright, no judgement from me, promise. The last girl I dated turned out to just to be a pretty face using me to get a leg up in the magazine industry. She had her moments, but it’s a year of my life I’ll never get back.” The curly blonde rubbed her thumb in circles, marvelling at how soft the back of Robin’s hand was. 

Blue eyes met green as Robin stared at Alice with the flicker of a smile. There was an odd sense of comfort emanating from their joined hands, like it was that most natural thing in the world. Alice had never felt like this before about any human being, even Ivy had always left her feeling on edge. 

_ ‘She’s getting married.’ _

The words burned in her skull, wrapping around any ideas she may have had that involved running away with the gorgeous woman beside her, burning them to ashes, leaving an awful taste in her mouth and an aching in her heart. Alice hadn’t known this girl 24 hours and had entertained at least a half dozen fantasies involving a getaway car and promises of forever. What was wrong with her? 

Alice forced her way back to reality, clearing her throat and glancing away, trying to ignore the smooth, toned legs she could still see in her peripheral vision. Robin pulled back her hand and stood up, the moment gone. She adjusted her towel and stepped reluctantly over to the doorway, towel just barely covering her ass. “Hey Alice?”

“Yeah Robin?"

“You, uh, you want to hang out tomorrow? I know Henry said he wouldn’t have the parts for your car for a couple days and tomorrow is my day off, so maybe I could show you around town? You know, to pay you back for the pizza?” Her voice was hopeful and a broad smile took over the sitting girl’s face. Alice could think of not a single world where she would say no, however she felt the need to add a buffer.

“Absolutely! Can we bring along my cousin too? She’s been a bit off and I don’t want her spending the day alone with whatever wacked out thoughts are swirling around in there.” Alice knew Hope was going to grumble for a least an hour in protest, but she’d have to get over it. Robin may be promised to someone else, but dammit, Alice was gonna enjoy at least being her friend for the next few days. 

Robin’s unsure face widened into a grin and she gave a little wave as she left. Alice fell backward on the mattress, thinking about her not-date with the totally-unavailable-unattainable-goddess down the hall. 

_ ‘What the hell am I doing?’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep surprising myself ha


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice gets her shirt back!

“Time to get up you bum! If I’m gonna have to spend my day watching you flirt with a married woman, I’m going to need something to throw-up. Now come on, I’m starving!” Hope’s voice from the hall was in irritating screech cutting into Alice’s newest R-rated dream (admittedly set in a bathroom). Alice threw the first thing her groping hand could find on the floor, hitting the door solidly with one of the decorative and aptly named throw pillows. 

“I’m UP!” Rolling out of bed quite literally, she landed with a thud and sat up, momentarily confused by her overwhelmingly quaint surroundings.  _ ‘Oh right, tiny cute town filled with an insanely large number of overly attractive people who are also maddeningly unavailable.’ _

__ Still feeling grimy after opting to skip showering the night before, Alice stripped off her old clothes and wrapped herself in a towel. She grabbed a clean sports bra, tank, and underwear, and headed across the hall, making sure to knock loudly before entering. 

__ Wiping the steam from the mirror with her newly clean hand while using the other to finger-comb her damp hair, Alice took an inventory of herself.  _ ‘Hair could use a trim, probably should get some new face wash from a shop in town, maybe I could get a new shirt or two as well… MY SHIRT.’ _

__ Alice felt panic set in as she realized she still had no idea where her shirt from last night was hiding. Frantically she tore apart the bathroom, pulling open all the drawers and even searching the medicine cabinet behind the main mirror. Coming up empty, she felt something nagging at her, some little detail sitting in the front of her mind trying to get her attention. It was important, something she missed or overlooked? She banged her forehead against the wall by the shower, hoping to shake loose the information. What was it?

__ “Robin!”

Robin had mentioned that losing a shirt wasn’t a crisis and Alice had been so distracted by the girl’s lack of clothes that she completely skimmed over the comment. But if Robin knew she left her shirt in the bathroom… “Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She probably thinks I’m the creepiest person to ever live! Creepy Alice being creepy, sneaking into bathrooms to spy on soon-to-be-married women and leaving her clothes everywhere!”

“Alice?” The familiar voice from the otherside of the door froze the curly blonde in her pacing tracks. Should she respond? Maybe she should pretend not to hear her and hope she goes away, then Alice could get Hope to find out where her shirt is.  _ ‘No, that won’t work. We’re all supposed to go see the town together and I don’t want to bail. I  _ **_really_ ** _ don’t want to bail.’ _

Alice swallowed hard, preparing for the awkwardness that was sure to sweep in behind the absolute perfection that was Robin. “Come in!”

There was a rush of air outward as the steam from the bathroom met the colder temperature of the hall, and Alice felt like it sucked out all her common sense and verbal skills with it.

Robin was simply dressed, in a pair of jeans, a forest green t-shirt, and zip up brown calf length boots, her hair pulled back in a braid that was draped over one shoulder. To Alice, she was the ideal. Her eyes sparkled a deep emerald and Alice couldn’t help but stare into them, so she didn’t miss when Robin’s eyes flickered down the length of the curly blonde’s towel-clad body.  _ ‘Did she just check me out? No. Couldn’t be. Did her eyes just darken? Maybe I’m just imagining things. But she smiled a little too! NO. Stop it, brain.” _

That beautiful melodic laugh broke her from her internal argument, and Robin stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind herself so the air started to settle again. “You okay over there?” 

_ ‘Not even close _ ’

“Uh yup, ha, just, uh, looking for, something…” Alice fumbled with a hairbrush, pushing the pins down, collapsing the center and watching it come back to life again. She could feel Robin’s eyes on her, and Alice was attempting to keep the blush creeping up her neck from spreading to the rest of her body. After a few moments, she risked a furtive glance towards the woman blocking her exit route, and found Robin indeed staring her way, leaning against the opposite end of the bathroom counter on one hand, the other tracing imaginary patterns on the granite top, her eyes locked on Alice’s form in a weird trance. “Are you… alright?”

Robin’s green eyes snapped up from where they had been wandering downward and met Alice’s deep blue, a reddening tint taking over her olive-toned cheeks.  _ ‘The hell was that about? I did not imagine  _ **_that_ ** _.’ _

“I’m gonna just-” The crash of the turtle-shaped soap dish startled both of them, the red hue spreading from Robin’s cheeks to the entirety of her face as she stumbled backwards, embarrassed by the mess she had just created. She squatted down to examine the damage, picking up the broken pieces in both hands. “Shit! Granny’s going to kill me!”

“Tell her I did it, she’s only just met me. How mad could she be at a complete stranger?” Alice meant it to be light-hearted but the terror still in Robin’s aghast face told her that her comments were not helping one bit. “She’s a little old lady, how scary can she be?”

“Don’t be fooled, she may look like a harmless elderly woman but she used to be in the FBI. People say they called her ‘The Wolf’ because she was scary good at tracking someone for days, but I heard it was because she wouldn’t hesitate to rip someone to shreds. I’ve seen her gun case, Alice. It’s like a small armory and she is very attached to her knick-knacks.” The dark blonde was deadly serious, cradling the shards of turtle like a lifeline. Alice pulled a washcloth from the linen closet and motioned for Robin to dump the pieces on it, wrapping them up into a neat bundle. 

“I’m sure it’s not that bad. Let me deal with it. Think of it as payment for the tour of the town.” Setting the bundle down, the bright blonde offered her hand and Robin used it to hoist herself up, their proximity much closer than before. Alice quickly took a step backward, letting go of Robin’s hand in favor of readjusting her towel. “Speaking of our planned outing, I should probably get dressed…”

“Yes! Yeah, sorry, I’ll just go… wait downstairs with my cousin.”

“ _ My  _ cousin.” Alice raised an eyebrow at that.

“Right, your cousin. My bad, I don’t know why I said that.” Robin shook her head like she was clearing it, groping behind her for the door handle. The cool breeze returned as she made to leave, stopping halfway out. “Your shirt! I have it. I had it washed with my clothes last night. I figured you must have left it in the bathroom before I got there. I can go grab it now or bring it down with me, whatever’s easier.”

“Downstairs is fine, if that’s good. I’ll be down in a few minutes, can you have Ruby pick breakfast for me? She seems to be spot-on with recommendations.” Alice caught her tongue between her teeth and smirked at Robin. 

“Spot-on my ass, sometimes I think she gets a kick out of inconveniencing me. She knew I’d be in to get my usual and wanted to sow a little chaos I guess.” Robin must have noticed the downturning of Alice’s lips and back-pedaled. “It was fine, don’t worry. I’ll go get breakfast in the works so it will be ready by the time you get down there.”

The curly blonde nodded thanks and sighed in relief once the door was finally shut. 

  
  


Scrunching her curls as she skipped down the last few steps, Alice could hear her cousin laughing as she finished up what Alice was quick to recognize as a pretty damn embarrassing story from when she was about ten.

“And when we found her, she said the trolls made her do it!” Hope not only had Robin’s attention, but Ruby and Granny’s as well, making Alice hasten her pace over to the counter. 

“If we’re telling stories, maybe I should tell the one about the time you ran into the mailbox?” Hope turned bright red at her cousin’s words and quickly shoved another bite of pancakes into her mouth. 

“Food’s all ready for you, Als.” Ruby placed a mug of hot water next to what Alice presumed to be her food, along with a plate of tea bags. Curiously, her plate was sat on the other side of Robin, not Hope. The dark blonde’s upturned face was more than inviting and Alice tried to ignore the warmth growing inside as she took her seat, their knees brushing when the stool swivelled too far. 

“Oh! Alice, here’s your shirt!” Robin produced the red and white material from her small satchel, and Alice could see Ruby in her peripheral vision with her mouth hanging open and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she pulled it on over her black tank top. 

“Thanks again, and sorry about leaving it in there.”

Breakfast was consumed quickly, the over-easy eggs and beans on toast were exactly what Alice needed that morning and she told Ruby as much as they were helping clear the counter before heading to the bathroom. The brunette grinned, and Robin took that opportunity to express again her annoyance with the waitress’ antics. Hope had run up to her room to grab her camera, Granny going up with her to rest a bit, and Alice was finishing up in the bathroom when she heard an exchange she soon figured out was not meant for her ears. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but they weren’t being particularly quiet either.

“Seriously Rubes, I know you think I don’t have friends or whatever but yesterday was a new one. You put Alice in an uncomfortable position, after she already had to be towed here.” Robin seemed annoyed sure, but there was something else in her voice that Alice couldn’t place.

“It’s not that I think you need more friends, you need someone like  _ Alice _ . You know,  _ family. _ You’re unhappy, and don’t you dare lie to me about that. I can practically smell the depression coming off you in waves. And maybe Alice isn’t the exact one you need to pull you out of this funk you’re in but she certainly wouldn’t hurt. Dorothy and I can only do so much when it comes to this.” Ruby actually sounded genuinely concerned, and Alice was trying to understand where she was going when Robin responded in an unnervingly calmer tone.

“I’m with Will and there’s no backing out now. In less than two months I’ll be Mrs. Will Scarlet and that’s that Ruby. Whatever path my life could have taken, this is the one I’m stuck to now.” The sadness and defeat was so strong that the bright blonde squeezed the door frame to keep from running over and embracing a woman she hardly knew, wanting to do anything she could to alleviate the hurt. 

“That’s just it, Robs. You don’t  _ have _ to be! You can’t sit here and tell me you can stand to spend the rest of your life with him. You forget that I’ve known you your whole life!  _ I _ was the one taking you to clubs as a teenager,  _ I _ was the one picking you up early in the morning from girls’ houses and telling your mom you’d slept over at my apartment. I’m not saying go and marry this girl, but for fuck’s sake, don’t make the same mistake your aunt did and miss out on being happy!” 

“She’s happy!” Robin retorted. Alice risked a glance around the door and spied the two over by the entrance, the brunette gathering up plates and cups in a bus tub, Robin hovering with a rag in hand, waiting to wipe down the table. Both had their backs to the rear of the restaurant and Alice ducked back behind the door as Ruby turned around, having snatched up the tub.

“Yeah,  _ now! _ It took her years to be happy and even now she can’t talk about that part of her life without drowning in a bottle first!” Dishes clanked into the sink and water started running somewhere.

“Just drop it Ruby!” A silence followed, only lasting a few seconds but long enough for Alice to debate making her presence known. She didn’t have to make the choice after all, as Hope materialized at that moment at the bottom of the stairs, camera bouncing on her chest from it’s strap. She glanced sideways at Alice, who was clearly hiding, and raised an eyebrow in the same manner Alice knew she herself had done many times over. The older girl shook her head and willed her cousin to not say anything, not wanting the two women in the restaurant to know she had heard. Not because she felt guilty, but because she really did want to hang out with Robin and had the feeling that Robin would bail if she knew Alice had overheard the exchange.

“Ready to go, Hope? We’re just waiting on Alice to get out of the bathroom and we can head out.” The abrupt change in Robin’s voice from somber to cheery was startling and the curly blonde nearly tripped on her own feet coming out of the restroom, this time making a decent amount of noise. Alice looked Robin’s way but the other woman wouldn’t meet her gaze, rather choosing to fiddle with the numerous bracelets she was wearing that day.

“Wait no longer, I have arrived!” Alice tried her best to appear jovial and excited, and she was, but the conversation lingered in her head. They waved goodbye to Ruby and stepped out into the morning sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm taking longer and longer between updates, but I swear I'm not abandoning any of my fics.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo sorry for how long it's been. I'm about to crank out chapters on both stories as well as drop a new one so yay!

The sun was just starting to warm the air, the fog lifting off the earth like a blanket, waking the town with it. Glancing to her left, Alice could see the auto shop they'd walked from the night before and nudged Hope. “See, I told you we barely walked two blocks. You’re such a wimp sometimes!”

Hope stuck out her tongue and shoved her older cousin sideways, running her into a distracted Robin. Alice felt a firm hand wrap around her waist to steady her, and a blush crept up her neck. 

“You okay there?” Alice could only let out a nervous laugh in response, glancing behind her to see Ruby watching them in the window of the diner, winking and mouthing something no doubt suggestive. Robin followed Alice’s line of sight, turning into Alice and thoughtlessly switching which hand was on her waist. The braided girl flipped Ruby the bird with a slight scowl. “She’s lucky she’s my best friend or I’d have killed her by now.”

“She seems like a good mate, looking out for you and whatnot.” They saw the waitress grin and scurry off out of view, probably being called by a table. Robin’s head whipped toward Alice, her scowl morphing into a look of confusion mixed with something softer, something sweet. 

“Ruby is the closest thing I have to an older sister. She lives to annoy me any time she can, but she… knows me better than anyone, too. Ruby, and Dorothy really, have been around so long, I can’t remember a time before them. And now she has it in her head that I’m unhappy or whatever, and she keeps meddling and trying to push me towar-” As if a switch had been flicked, her casual demeanor dissipated and the taller girl released her grip on Alice’s waist, jerking backwards. Alice watched with mild despondency as Robin’s eyes darted back to the diner window. “We should get a move on, places to see, people to meet and all that.”

Robin took the lead and headed towards the rising sun, her silhouette cutting through the morning light like an angel. Alice felt rather than saw her cousin sidle up next to her. “Sooo… She’s pretty much your dream girl, huh?”

“Shut up, Hope.”

“-the city name means ‘Swift Water’ and was originally settled by the Kittitas Tribe.” The trio were walking down the main thoroughfare in search of a clothing store, Hope having voiced an interest in getting a new jacket and a couple other items. Said teen was lagging behind the older two, intently texting someone (or someones) on her phone, barely aware of the world around her. Alice didn’t mind, the more Hope was off in her own world, the less she could tease Alice about her crush on Robin.  _ ‘It’s barely a crush, more like a mild infatuation. No, not even that, it’s just a little interest. She’s practically married.’  _

“So you’ve lived here your whole life? Must be nice to have people around you that you’ve known that long.” Alice was aiming for a lighthearted question but her shot landed somewhere between curious and melancholic. Robin didn’t appear to notice, a snort doubling her over a bit.

“Yeah, I guess. More like suffocating.” Her eyes seem to get lost, just for a few seconds, but long enough for Alice to wonder if there wasn’t more Robin wanted to say. The bright blonde swung her arms back and forth, trying to focus on the way her fingertips brushed against black denim. They walked a bit farther in a thickening silence, broken only by the occasion direction from Robin. Finally, the braided girl swung hard into an alley and ducked into a small doorway to the right, rapping on the metal door at the bottom of a short flight of stairs. Alice threw a questioning look her way but was only met with a shrug. When nothing happened, Robin banged again but harder. “Lillith! Open up!”

Robin turned and leaned against the door, crossing her arms and painting her face with a smirk. Hope was hopping anxiously from one foot to the other at the top of the stairs, apparently just realizing they were stopped in a rather unusual spot. Robin chuckled at her obvious discomfort, “This is my favorite place to shop for clothes. You’ll see.” 

Muffled shouts came from behind the metal door and Robin popped up just in time to keep from getting pushed over as a tall woman with dark brown hair emerged obviously disheveled and annoyed. “You better have a real good reason for waking me up before noon on a Saturday, Mills.”

“Just let us in, Page.” The Mills girl pulled the door open the rest of the way and practically shoved Alice past the grumpy woman and into a dark hallway. Hope cautiously followed, jumping slightly when Lillith slammed and locked the door behind them. 

Robin led them down the corridor and up three flights of stairs, coming out into the most eclectic yet inviting room Alice had ever encountered. The walls of the room weren’t walls, but glass, giving a 360 degree view of the town; there was a large space in the middle filled with an assortment of couches and little tables, and clothes racks of all shapes and sizes scattered about the rest of the room. The morning sun flooded in from the east side and gave the room a homey feel, highlighting all the warm tones and softening the cool ones. Alice could see why Robin liked it there.

“Hey Lillith, I can just write down what we take and leave the money on the counter if you want to head back to sleep... Annndd she’s gone.” All three women turned around to see the fourth already retreating back down the stairs, grumbling to herself. Robin let out an exhale that bordered on a laugh and made her way to the checkout counter, fiddling with an electrical box under the counter. Tegan and Sara filled the air, and Hope snorted as she began browsing through the racks of old punk and rock t-shirts. Alice turned to glare at her but she was already lost in her shopping, piling up items on her arm to try on.

Robin walked back around the counter and headed for one of the dingier looking couches, plopping down and throwing her feet up on the coffee table. Alice, meanwhile, had started her own shopping, in search of a few new overshirts and a pair of jeans or two. Once she’d amassed enough things, she looked around for a dressing room.

“Um Robin? Is there a changing room here?” Alice was trying to sound like a normal person, instead of the nervous mess she had become once she realized the alternative solution.

“Nah, but we’re all women here. Just pick a spot and go for it. We’re high enough up that no one is watching if that’s what you’re worried about.” The girl on the couch said it so nonchalantly that Alice almost felt better. Almost.

“Uh, yeah, no. You’re right. I’ll just…” The older Jones scouted the area, finding her cousin already changing in the only spot that would have afforded complete coverage. They made eye contact and there was no doubt in Alice’s mind that her cousin was a tiny little demon. Alice shuffled around one of the larger clothing racks and began stripping off her outer layers, focusing on trying on her things as quickly as she could. She was so single-minded as she plowed through her task that she didn’t notice Robin had gotten up and was rifling through the racks herself, coming closer to half-naked Alice with every step.  _ ‘You’re being an idiot, Alice. She doesn’t think of you as anything other than a friend and friends do stuff like this all the time. Changing in front of each other is no big deal. Deep breaths, just try the pants on and be done with it.” _

“Find anything you like?” The goddess’ voice rang out behind her and a startled Alice pitched forward, one leg in and one leg half out of the pair of jeans she was trying on. Two hands grasped her waist and she hung, suspended in mid air for a moment. “This is becoming a habit, isn’t it? Me keeping you from falling on your ass. Or in this case, face.”

Alice righted herself and quickly tugged the jeans on, turning around as she buttoned the top. “Yeah, clumsy Alice, always tipping over in your proximity. Ha ha... What is that?!”

Just over Robin’s left shoulder, off in the distance, was a large billboard with a slogan Alice was quite familiar with. And a face Alice could have gone a thousand lifetimes without seeing again. Robin followed her gaze, looking confused. “What? What is what?”

Alice’s face wrinkled in disgust as she motioned to the large sign. “That  _ thing. _ I didn’t know Tremaine Incorporated was around here.”

“Oh, yeah. They came here a few years ago and started buying up property and flipping houses. They’re not all bad, they saved the park down on Elm, so I guess that’s something. You know she calls herself ‘Lady Tremaine’? How pretentious.” Robin turned back to Alice and noticed her revulsion. “You really don’t like them, do you? What’d they do? Tear down your favorite place back in….”

“Chicago.” The bright blonde filled in the missing info absently, “And yeah, something like that.” 

“Well forget them! Don’t let it ruin your day out with the coolest girl in town.” She shot Alice a grin and the other woman relented. Robin was right, it wasn’t worth ruining her day over. The Tremaine empire was everywhere, she shouldn’t be surprised to see them all the way on the west coast. 

“Yeah, I guess.” She began gathering up the clothes she’d already tried on, sorting them into two piles. Picking up the smaller of the two, she whistled at Hope, waving her over to where they were. “I think I’m all sorted here. Hope, throw me your stuff. How much do I owe Lillith?”

Robin sifted through the clothes in Alice’s arms, checking tags and muttering to herself. “Looks like…. Twenty bucks.”

“No. There’s no way all of this is only twenty bucks. How much is it, seriously?” Alice tried to check the tags herself, but Robin snatched the bundle from her arms and dashed behind the counter, ripping off the tags as she went. “Robin! Quit that! I’m going to pay what I owe!”

“And you owe twenty bucks!” Robin held up the last tag triumphantly and tossed it in the trash can. She sauntered back like she had gotten away with murder and handed a bag to Alice. “Now, drop the money on the counter and let's keep wandering the town.”

“I’m heading outside to look for Hope, that girl could get lost in a paper bag.” Robin’s laughter followed Alice outside to the sidewalk and into the bright sunshine of the early afternoon. She shaded her eyes with her hand, on the watch for a wild mop of blonde not unlike her own. Hope never did like to clothes shop with other people and after Alice checked out at the fourth store, the older two left the teenager to pick out some items alone with a promise she would meet them for ice cream. Alice made slow circles in place, taking in the scenery while keeping an eye out, trying hard not to see this place as the perfect new article for work. 

“Ally?” The Jones girl felt like she’d been doused with a large bucket of ice water. Only one person _ ever _ called her that. She inhaled as deeply as she was able, and swivelled on her heel.

“Drizella. Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in New York or Milan or, I don’t know,  _ anywhere else _ ?” She was fighting the urge to bolt, to take off at a run to the diner and the safety of the few people she knew in this little town. Even as she thought it, the rational part of her brain reasoned that two of the three people were with her, or within a block of her, and running would only worry Hope. 

“The better question is why are  _ you _ here. This is quite a far cry from your apartment in the Windy City and this is still the US if I’m not mistaken. Unless your work has you travelling domestically now?” The small brunette cocked an eyebrow her way, adjusting her purse from one arm to the other and shifting on her matching stilettos. 

“I’m not here for work, I’m here for-”

The tinkle of door chimes halted their conversation and they both watched as Robin backed out of the ice cream shoppe, hands busy carrying their order.

“So they were out of rainbow sprinkles, but they had mini M&M’s which I figured was close enough. Better lick it soon though or else it will start dripping candy everywh-” The dark blonde paused mid-turn at the sight of the woman next to Alice. “Drizella Tremaine.” 

"Robin Mills! How good to see you again, I was just chatting with your friend here. Alice, was it?". As always Drizzy's ability to switch on the charm was alarming. Alice's eyes widened a bit at her sudden amnesia; she and Drizella had quite the history, so what gives?

"What brings you out of your ivory skyscraper to join us peasants?" Alice was aware of Robin moving closer as she spoke, seeing her position herself slightly in front of the Jones girl and between the two smaller women.

"Oh, just out for a stroll, taking a break from editing legal briefs to stretch my legs and take in the fresh air. Fancy seeing you out and about with a new  _ friend _ . You should swing by the office and introduce her to  _ Will _ , I'm sure he'd love to meet her!" Drizella's words had a sickeningly sweet tone that Alice knew from experience only meant danger and chances were good that the brunette had some sort of opinion about the nature of Alice and Robin's new friendship (no matter how wrong that opinion was). “Or better yet, bring her to the company mixer tonight! All are welcome.” 

Alice stiffened, Drizella was almost certainly not asking. She was demanding. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little sharing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm determined to see this one through. I have like.... fifteen more chapters planned, life is just getting a bit stressful with the holidays and all.

“Sorry about her. I’d say she isn’t always like that, but that would be a lie.” Robin glared at Drizella’s retreating back and huffed before turning back towards Alice, holding out Alice’s rapidly melting ice cream. “Hey, you okay?”

Alice vacantly accepted the treat, her mind lost in trying to figure out just what Drizella was going on about. Drizella was never without an ulterior motive, no matter how random her actions appeared. The trick was to get ahead of her and cut her off, take away whatever prize she was after before she had a chance to get near it. But Alice couldn’t see the reward here. Why was her ex so adamant that Alice meet Will? And hanging out with Robin during the day was one thing, but going to a company mixer was a cry too far. The longer she thought about that scheming little twat, the more stressed and upset she became. Every muscle tensed, every inch of her skin prickled and overly aware, sound disappeared around her and she was sucked back into memories of betrayal and heartache. 

_Alice storms into the apartment, the elevator doors dinging closed behind her. It’s spotless as always, the maid having cleaned just that morning, but there are signs of use: a purse half-open on the kitchen island, a tailored leather jacket tossed carelessly on the back of the loveseat, a pair of dark blue heels abandoned by the doorway to the bedroom. She clenches her fists tightly over and over, making her way across the main room to the only closed door, her mind screaming with disbelief that the woman she thought she loved could have done something so heinous. With a flourish of a pen, the woman she was supposed to marry had sealed the fate of Alice’s favorite place and had sealed their fate as well._

_She stops just outside the office door, breathing heavily, hand trembling in anger as she reaches for the knob but just before her fingers hit metal, she drops them. She’d never been confrontational and no matter how irate she feels, she doesn’t want to hear anything Driz had to say. There are no more excuses, no more justifications Alice can stomach. She’s done._

Cold began creeping down her right forearm and somewhere in her brain a neuron fired that pulled her back to reality, her attention shifting to the shrinking ice cream pouring over her wrist. “Bugger!”

She hurried to rectify her situation, choosing to pull off her overshirt from the opposite arm and wrap it around the sticky mess while licking up as much as she could. Some part of her brain saw the braided girl’s eyes following Alice’s mouth and recorded the way Robin ever so slightly licked her own lips, but Alice wouldn’t revisit that until late that evening. “I started the day chuffed and now it’s gone and gotten mucked up! Didn’t even get to enjoy my blooming ice cream!”

“That is the most British I’ve heard you sound in a while, cousin. You alright?” Hope popped up behind the two of them, Alice stumbling forward, Robin’s hand enclosing around her left wrist and pulling her back before she dropped into the street. Robin smirked and held up three fingers on her free hand. 

“Bleeding hell, Hope! I nearly went arse over elbow!” The older Jones noticed Robin’s smirk turn to concern and she inhaled as deeply as she could, exhaling through her nose in an attempt to calm. She stepped out of Robin’s grasp “Sorry. Yes Hope, I’m fine.”

Hope glanced over to Robin with raised eyebrow, the dark blonde shrugging in response before offering what little she saw. “I’m not sure what happened. I came out and saw her talking to Drizella Tremaine, a local bougie socialite with a penchant for getting in people’s heads. I know Alice said she had some sort of grudge against Tremaine Inc, but it’s not like they know each other personally, right?”

“Oh God. Drizella was here? Okay. We should go back to Granny’s. Now.” The younger Jones shifted her clothing bags to one hand while she studied Alice, deliberately ignoring Robin’s inquisitive stare. After waiting a beat, Hope reached for Alice’s arm, but the older girl jerked away.

“No!” Alice was shocked even herself at her outburst, and reddened slightly, another deep inhale. In a calmer voice, she tried again. “No. I will not let that family ruin my day. The _Tremaines_ are not allowed to make me miserable anymore. Please can we just forget about it and continue on?”

Alice saw the other two exchange some interesting looks: Robin, no doubt, was attempting to understand what could make Alice so upset, and Hope seemed to be trying to convince Robin it was nothing. When no one moved after a minute or so, the bright blonde grabbed her own shopping bags off the concrete and started off down the road without the other two, opposite the way Drizella had disappeared, no particular destination in mind. She could hear scuffling and confusion behind her as Robin and Hope grabbed their things and rushed after her. 

“Alice! Wait!”

“You don’t even know where you’re going!”

  
  


They spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the main streets and popping in stores they found interesting. Robin tried a few times to ask Alice about the encounter but was shut down with barely a word. Instead Alice shifted the conversations towards more mundane and innocuous things.

“So you were born and raised here?” They were admiring a window display outside a shoe store while Hope was inside grabbing some sneakers. Alice was acutely aware that Robin was standing close enough that the scent of her perfume was wafting ever so slightly Alice’s way and it was making her brain go a little mushy.

“Yep. Born in that hospital over there, actually.” The dark blonde gestures behind herself to a large grey building a ways down the street with a large caduceus on the front by the loading bay. “How about you? I’m guessing you’re not exactly from this side of the world.”

“What gave it away?” Alice laughed. “Surprisingly, I was born here. The States, I mean. In Maine, a small port town on the coast. My papa and his brothers were crewmates for a trading company and routinely stopped at the town every couple of months. Well one particular tour, a woman my papa had enjoyed the company of a few times over the course of a couple years approached him with a box. She shoved the box in his arms and said, ‘She’s yours now.’ and that was that.”

“Wait, your mother just left you with him? How old were you? Did you ever see her again?” Robin had gently grabbed Alice’s hand and was softly making those tiny little circles again with her thumb, soothing in a way Alice didn’t know was possible. 

“Barely had my eyes open. She popped up a couple times when I was younger. My papa raised me mostly in a village out in the middle of nowhere in England, and my mother was like a bad penny, showing up at inconvenient times just to threaten to take me away and make my papa miserable. I never knew why she felt the need to come all the way across the Atlantic, but finally my papa decided to relocate when I was eleven.” 

“So you moved to Chicago?” Robin’s tugged Alice over to a low retaining wall and they sat in tandem, hands never separating.

“Well, my papa’s younger brother moved to Chicago when he joined the Navy and always offered to help us get sorted if we wanted. By the time we jumped the pond, Hope and her mom were a thing and suddenly I went from just having Papa to having an aunt, two uncles, a cousin, kinda grandparents etc…” Alice trailed off, staring down at their conjoined hands, afraid to acknowledge the gesture for fear of spooking Robin and losing her newfound lifeline.

They sat there, watching the world go by, neither removing their hand but not daring to move closer. Alice sighed, feeling more content than she ever had after an incident with her ex, and she tried to ignore the implication that Robin was the cause. The wind blew gently by, rippling through Alice’s wild curls and sending an unexpected shiver down her spine.

“Hey, about that party tonight…” Robin rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand.

“It’s fine, no worries. Drizella seems to enjoy putting others in a rough spot just for a laugh.” Alice wriggled her hand free and began fiddling with an open tear in her jeans, running her fingers over the torn threads and plucking them idly, marginally increasing the size of the hole. A hand covered her own, fingers interlacing.

“I was going to say that I’d like it if you came with me. Will almost never shows up, always off working late or with his friends, so I’m always alone. Which is ridiculous considering the parties are for _his_ job.” Alice peered curiously around the bright curtain of her own hair to watch Robin shift uncomfortably. 

“Okay. Sure. Sounds like a plan.” Silence fell upon them again, and Alice closed her eyes. She wanted to hold onto this moment, even if it wasn’t real, even if Robin didn’t mean the invitation as a date, even if soon Hope would finish shopping and they would be forced to unlink their hands. 

“YO HOMO, I’M READY TO GO-MO!”

Speaking of.


	9. Chapter 9

The walk back to Granny’s was quiet. Thoughts about the upcoming party loomed in Alice’s head, her nerves at her second not-date getting the best of her. The older Jones girl was staving off a panic attack the only way she knew how: counting her steps. She started numbering her steps at the beginning of each new block, then counted the number of sidewalk pavers and divided the two to get an average number of steps per paver, then multiplied by the number of blocks so far to see if her total possible steps had changed. It was a neurotic habit that started back when she first moved to Chicago and was having a hard time adjusting to the busy pace of the city after the enveloping quiet of the British countryside. 

Once safely back inside her room, having made plans to meet up with Robin at seven to go to the party, Alice sunk into her bed to wallow in her anxiety and thoughts of what Drizella could possibly hope to gain from Alice attending the party tonight.  _ ‘Maybe she wants to get back together? Fat chance of that though, she burned that bridge and salted the ground around it. Maybe she thinks I’ll embarrass myself? Probably will, but I’m way beyond worrying about that. So then what is it? What could she possibly want from me? _

A fleeting idea zips into her mind. What if it wasn’t about her? What if it was about Robin?

No. She couldn’t think of anything Robin could have done to provoke Drizzy. They were a bit bristly towards one another but Alice had been witness to Drizella’s interactions with people she hated and that was not the vibe she was getting. Which left Alice back at square one. 

She glanced at the old-timey alarm clock on the end table and decided she had enough time to take a short nap before she needed to get ready. Curling up into a ball, Alice had just begun drifting off when a stray image slid into her consciousness: Robin staring agape as she watched Alice lick melted ice cream off herself. The tired blonde willed it away, knowing that reading into anything would just cause her more misery, but that didn’t stop her brain from torturing her dreams.

  
  
  


*BANG BANG BANG*

“HOPE! OPEN UP!” Alice dropped her head forward with a thunk on the wood door, her optimism for finding something to wear fading with every tick of the nearby grandfather clock.

“She’s out with Henry, probably eating at the only other restaurant in town.” Ruby’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere, causing Alice to stutter against the door and slam her knee into the little decorative table as she turned. The brunette appraised the mess of a woman with a wide grin, content to wait for an explanation.

“Fuck. I needed to borrow something to wear to the party-thing tonight and just my luck, the only person I know here is off galavanting with some bloke she just met who’s way too old for her to boot!” She raked her fingers through unruly curls and leaned backward, eyes closing on contact with the wall. She knew she should be worried about Hope but the overwhelming message in her mind was that she was so fucked. Nothing she packed was even remotely acceptable for anything more than strolling down small town streets and maybe going out to a rave, that’s it. She couldn’t very well wear her ripped jeans to a company party.

Alice could feel Ruby’s scrutinizing gaze and was doing her best to ignore it in favor of trying to come up with a plausible reason not to go that night.

“You know, there  _ are _ other women around to borrow clothes from.” The waitress said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Alice was an absolute idiot for not seeing it. Alice laughed dryly and opened her eyes.

“No offense, but you and I aren’t exactly built the same. I’m a bit…. Shorter than you. And I’m pretty sure you wear a smaller size than me.” 

Ruby let out a noise closer to a bark than a chuckle and motioned for Alice to follow her up to the top floor where the blonde was led through the only door at the end of the staircase. “You may not be my size, but I think it’s alright if you take a look through Dorothy’s closet.”

Alice took stock of the small “penthouse” apartment that occupied the highest floor of Granny’s as she followed Ruby. The front door gave way to an open floor plan combination living room/dining room/kitchen decorated in earthy tones and more pictures of faces that were rapidly becoming recognizable. One photo in particular caught Alice’s eye, in it was a teenage Ruby and Dorothy in their bathing suits with a young man that Alice sussed out was Henry, and a girl about eight or nine with a familiar braid coming over her shoulder.  _ ‘They really have known each other forever. Look at that cute little face, who would have thought she’d grow up to be a knock-out. Is Ruby really that much older? She doesn’t look it.” _

__ She skimmed her fingers along the edge of the frame, thinking about the one friend she’d really had in Chicago (besides her cousin) and wishing he was still around to keep her grounded. Who was she kidding, Jefferson had always had his head in a million places at once and was a fair bit mad. But he was the best friend Alice ever had, and losing him was the final nail in the coffin for her and Drizella.

_ “Is this Alice Jones?” _

_ “Yep, who’s this?” _

_ “This is Katherine at Northwestern Memorial. We have you listed as the emergency contact for Jefferson O’Hare. He is here with us.” _

_ “I’ll be right there.” _

_ The trip to the hospital is a blur, Alice parking illegally in a loading zone a block away and running the rest. She breathlessly gives her name and Jefferson’s at the front desk and is directed towards the back of the building, a growing pit in her stomach eating her from the inside out. She should have seen this coming the minute she found out Drizella signed the paperwork to sell the old mansion to a developer. She should have known he wouldn’t take it well. _

_ Rounding on the psych ward check-in station, she repeats her information, anxiously shifting her weight and takes deep breaths, aware she is standing in the scene of her worst nightmare. The woman behind the desk comes around and lays a comforting hand on her arm, leading her down a nearby hall painted a calming light blue. _

_ “Now, we have him sedated but we are keeping him restrained for the time being. He tried to set a building on fire while still inside and has sustained several third degree burns. Our main concern however, is for his mental state. He came in fully conscious, raving about ‘the portal to Wonderland being at risk’ and saying that if he couldn’t have it, no one could. Maybe you can get through to him.” The grey-haired nurse gently eases open one of the room doors and lets Alice shuffle past. _

_ Alice knows from one look that this time she won’t be able to pull him back to reality. _

__

__

“I found a couple options in Dorothy’s closet, depending on which direction you want to go.” Alice was still rubbing her fingers along the frame when Ruby emerged from a small hallway, arms laden with clothes. “Hey, you okay?”

The curly blonde stumbled back a bit, cheeks reddening at her own odd behavior and nodded. Ruby eyed her skeptically but must have decided to let it go in favor of laying out the outfits she found on the back of the couch in the living room portion. Alice padded over and looked over her choices before selecting the only outfit that really felt like her.

“Nice, I’m sure Robin will love it.” Ruby commented as if it was the most normal thing in the world to say, her long limbs already sweeping up the remaining clothing.

“Wha-what? What do you mean by that? Why would Robin’s opinion matter?” The oldest Jones couldn’t stop the stutter in her voice, shocked at how boldly Ruby had just voiced a very real thought running through Alice’s head.

“Oh, nothing. You better go get ready!” Ruby shooed her out with a devious smile and Alice was soon standing on the landing of the top floor of the boarding house she had only been in one night with an armful of a stranger’s clothes wondering what the hell was her life now. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh look it's a party!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being MIA, just you know, life. Kids, work, wife, etc.  
> But this chapter is longer than usual so :D

A long whistle greeted Alice as she stepped off the last stair and into the diner. She blushed and tried to compose herself, smoothing down her borrowed dress and making sure all the pleats were right. 

“That dress looks amazing on you!” Ruby gushed, sounding oddly like a proud mother and coming around the counter to embarrass Alice more. The waitress skipped over and motioned for Alice to twirl around, a request which the Jones girl indulged almost happily. “It may look better on you than Dorothy.”

“I heard that!” Alice turned her head to look behind her and saw the receptionist from the garage descending the stairs with a look of indignation. She was just as tall as Ruby with slightly darker brown hair and stronger features, but where Ruby bounced with every step, Dorothy seemed to glide along. Her girlfriend grinned and reached out to put a hand around her waist.

“I only mean that while you, my love, look positively delicious with that dress on, I prefer it _off_.” Ruby punctuated her sentence by leaning in to the crook of Dorothy’s neck and playfully biting her. Alice glanced at her feet, not sure where to look all of the sudden and acutely aware that while the dress reached just above her knees, on Dorothy it must be obscenely short. She carefully slipped a flat off and back on again, glad she had a black pair stashed in her bag that did a decent job of complimenting the off-the-shoulder floral dress she was sporting.

There were only two other people in the restaurant and they took no notice of the two women who were becoming increasingly more affectionate; Alice was only saved from witnessing further mauling by the tinkle of door chimes. 

“Oh, wow, they’re just going at it aren’t they?” Alice’s eyes auto-tracked to the familiar voice in the doorway, and she was the definition of a useless lesbian for a more than a few seconds. 

Robin was there in a black dress that came to mid-calf and had a deep plunging neckline, and Alice struggled to find words, her mouth hanging wide open. The darker blonde’s hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, minimal make-up adorned her face, and she was perfection.

“Damn Robin, I always forget you are capable of wearing something other than neutral-toned t-shirts and greasy jeans.” Dorothy commented appreciatively, releasing Ruby to take Robin by the hand and twirl her around in a similar fashion as Alice had done just a few moments before. Robin let out a giggle and playfully shoved Dorothy when she tried to flip up her skirt.

“You ready to go?” The dark blonde was halfway out the door before Alice’s brain ordered her feet to start moving, resulting in an awkward mad dash out into the cool evening air to catch up. She skidded to a normal pace and did her best to walk casually, acutely aware of her arms swaying and trying not to count her steps again. 

They walked in silence, the quiet of the little town eventually giving way to the low chatter of others appearing on the same route, whom Alice surmised must be going to the same office party if their attire was anything to go by. Even still, the women continued on without words until they arrived at the massive glass double doors of the largest building in the town. Alice half expected to see bouncers outside of a building like that, but instead there was a young man with a clipboard that couldn’t have been more than sixteen. 

“Hey Pan, they have you working the front door this time, huh? Bummer. Want me to sneak you out a drink or two?” Robin winked at the boy and laughed good-naturedly. Pan eyed Alice a moment and turned his attention to the woman he knew.

“Yes please! This has been absolutely dreadful.” Alice raised her eyebrows at the familiar accent, surprised to find another Brit this far away from the rainy moors. He waved them in, crossing through their names and going back to a little doodle of a fairy he was making in the margins. 

Inside was as modern as the rest of the town was stuck in the mid-1950s (minus the racism); every piece of furniture looked airdropped from the Archer Hotel in New York and Alice had a suspicion that Drizella had had a hand in the decision making process. After all, that was where they had celebrated the first six months of what Alice would later consider the biggest waste of her time.

“The party is up on the roof, there’s a little garden up there too. It’s pretty neat.” Robin headed towards the elevator and Alice could feel herself start to panic. Elevators were one small space she had never been able to make peace with and right then she was scrambling for an excuse to climb ten flights of stairs instead. Her not-date turned around in front of the elevator doors and her eyes widened when she took in Alice standing stock still midway between her and the front door. “Hey, you okay? Did you forget something? What’s wrong?”

Alice tried to pull herself together and say something, anything back, but only a high-pitched squeak came out. Robin rushed over and grabbed her hand, rubbing soothing circles and waiting patiently for some explanation. “I… I can’t… Can we take the stairs? I don’t think I can..”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We can do the stairs if you want, it’s good exercise right? And with how stressed I am, I’m sure as hell gonna be drinking my calories tonight.” Alice was flooded with relief when Robin pulled her to a side door marked ‘Stairs’ without pressing any further as to why they were both going to be out of breath when they arrived at the party. 

The tenth floor came faster than either of them thought, the time having been spent learning little tidbits about one another (like how Robin’s older brother was on the Olympic Archery team or how Alice had been to 24 different countries and counting). The stairwell exited straight out to the rooftop and the loud sounds of the party in full-swing greeted them. They hadn’t taken ten steps before a body slammed into the Mills girl, taking both women by surprise.

“YOU CAME!” The large mass wrapped his arms around Robin and picked her up in a full body hug, twirling her around. When the figure stepped away from her not-date, Alice could see it was a young man roughly her own age, with a handsome face and a wide smile. _‘This must be Will. I may not be into dudes, but I can see the appeal. Dammit.’_ He immediately started talking a mile a minute, Robin nodding along and Alice began to feel a bit out of place. She tried to distract herself by taking in her surroundings.

There were fairy lights strung up all around and cocktail tables scattered about, each one with a beautiful centerpiece made of gold baubles, accenting the deep purple tablecloths perfectly. The buffet off to the left held a line of chafers, people happily chatting over the click of tongs and clatter of plates. A small stage was straight ahead, with a couple of amps and what looked like a karaoke machine, complete with screen advertising that the festivities would begin in less than half an hour. To the right, there was a sitting area filled with dark wicker couches surrounding three different coffee tables with inset fire pits.

“-and now Drizella owes me fifty bucks! She’s going to be so not happy she lost!” 

At the mention of her ex, Alice was drawn back to the two people in front of her, immensely interested in why Drizella would owe Robin’s soon-to-be husband money for what appeared to be a bet. A hand slipping into hers gently made her realize Robin was once again next to her, pulling her towards the young man she was trying so hard not to hate for reasons he had no control over.

“Gideon, this is Alice. Alice, this is Gideon, my oh-so-favorite gay best friend.”

“Gay _male_ best friend. Ruby would kill you to hear otherwise.” Gideon outstretched his hand and shook Alice’s eagerly, and with a knowing glint. “And how do you two know each other? I’m guessing you’re new to town?”

“Oh, well, Robin saved me from the side of the road and I suppose we’ve been bumming around while my cousin and I wait for my car to get fixed.” Alice was startled by the deep probing way Gideon was looking at her, as if he knew that Alice wished for much more than just friendship with the goddess at her side. 

“Robin does like to rescue a pretty damsel in distress.” 

“Shut it Gid, I need more alcohol if I’m going to suffer through this ordeal without jumping the railing.” With that, Robin headed to the bar, dragging Alice along with her and a laughing Gideon following behind. Alice tried not to overthink the implications of what she just heard.

  
  


Seven shots and two mixed drinks later, and the trio had made their way to the little table that housed the books filled with karaoke choices, and not one of the three had enough sobriety to question anything that was about to happen. 

“Please? Please do it with me?” Robin was clinging onto Gideon’s arm, mostly for balance, and was trying to convince him to sing ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ from _Mulan._ Gideon pretended to consider her request and then acquiesced, with a caveat.

“Ooookay. BUT, only if Alice over here does a song too.” He gave a wicked smile at Alice’s pout and began poking her in the side. “Come on, come on! You know you want to!”

Robin stopped clinging to Gideon and started koala-hugging Alice instead, causing the bright blonde to giggle. “Pleeeeaseee!”

“Fine, fine. But I get to choose!” Both her companions squealed and ran over to the sign-up table, leaving Alice to rifle through the books to find a song she knew well enough to sing. She picked up one of the books and started from the last page, working forward. Her indecisiveness made it a bit of a process, but in the end, she found a song she really loved and quickly signed up on the DJ’s list.

“-be swift as a coursing river!” Robin shouted more than sang, the alcohol in full force.

“Be a Man!” Gideon enthusiastically sang back.

“With all the force of a great typhoon!”

“Be a MAN!”

“With all the strength of a raging fire!”

“Mysterious as the dark side of THE MOOOOONNN!” They finished the song together, the crowd singing along most of the time as well. Cheers and applause saw them off the stage and the two rejoined Alice by the bar, quickly downing the shots she had waiting for them.

“You guys were great!” The bright blonde was trying desperately to ignore the way her new friend was pressing her chest against Alice’s back to reach the bartop. All three groaned in unison as a screeched rendition of ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ assaulted their ears and the friends clinked together their shot glasses before downing their tenth shot of the evening. 

Robin dragged them to the buffet, where she proceeded to fill an entire plate with just different types of bread and an alarming number of hot wings that Alice was pretty certain she was going to regret ingesting when the large quantity of vodka in her system finally revolted. The darker blonde shoved a roll into Alice’s open mouth when she made a comment and the Jones girl had to admit the bread was delicious. 

Tearing off the part of bread sticking out of her mouth, Alice motioned to a cocktail table near the stage so they could watch the other guests performing.

“So how much longer until you’re up?” Gideon swirled a shrimp in cocktail sauce before biting it cleanly in two. Alice held up a finger so she could finish chewing and Gideon pretended to bite it, throwing them all into another fit of drunken giggles. 

“Not sure, it didn’t take me long to decide but I’ve no idea how many people signed up after you two and before me.” Alice took a look around for the eighty-millionth time, and was relieved to see there was still no sign of Drizella. Maybe she wasn’t going to come after all. 

As if thinking her into existence, the glass doors to the interior of the top floor swung open and out strutted the devil herself. 

“Oh great, she’s here. I get that it’s her family’s company throwing the party and all, but she is the absolute worst. Here’s hoping she doesn’t come anywhere near us tonight.” Robin lifted her high-ball glass to clink with the other two, then downed half her drink in one go. A half-decent performance of a Taylor Swift song was coming to an end when the screen flashed Alice’s chosen alias: White Rabbit. “It’s you! It’s your turn!”

On shaky legs, Alice ascended the stairs to the platform, hands reaching for the mike, eyes landing first on Robin and Gideon, then shifting to a stunned Drizella, who had obviously not realized the bright blonde had actually shown up to the event. The stunned look was quickly replaced with a sneer and just before the song could start, Alice ran to the DJ and whispered something. Sauntering back to the microphone, she made a little announcement.

“Hello all, I was going to sing a rendition of ‘Where is My Mind’ as it is a dear favorite of mine, however, I’ve had a bit of a revelation in the last year of my life and I wanted to share a bit of it with you. AND since I’ve had more alcohol in the last three hours than is probably recommended for an American footballer, here it goes!” Her voice began small but grew in timber and volume with every word, emboldened by her hatred of the small brunette before her. “Oh, and to whom this is directed: You know who you are and what you’ve done.” 

As the music started, Alice grabbed the mic with one hand and the stand with the other, separating them and kept her eyes anywhere but on Drizella.

“ _Hear the Devil call out my name,_

_Broken promises, burning flames,_

_Frozen hearts in a lover’s grave,_

_God knows, darling, god knows I gave.”_

She set the mic back in the stand and levelled a glare at Drizella as the next part started.

_"Don’t tell me she didn’t mean nothing,_

_Can’t take back that bad you did to me,_

_Say goodbye, goodbye to everything,_

_We’re ghosts, d-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo,_

_We’re ghosts, and I’m dancing on her grave.”_

Drizella sent back an equally hateful stare as the crowd started to whistle and cheer, a few following Alice’s gaze and turning around to gape at the Tremaine. 

“ _Scarred forever, you were my life,_

_Girl, your ring upon my left five,_

_I got truth that cuts like a knife,_

_Fool me once, you won’t fool me twice”_

Alice waved her left hand in Beyonce fashion and danced a little on the stage as she sang, bringing the mic with her and getting into the song. When the chorus hit again, she was right back to dead center, mic on the stand, a glare levelled at Drizella, who was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Alice knew she wouldn’t dare leave in the middle of the performance, no, that would be admitting that it was getting to her and Tremaine’s didn’t back down on principle. Instead, Drizella tried to smile and shrug it off, like it was some joke but no one was buying it.

" _Thirty days and nights stayed,_

_I’d be staring at your faults,_

_Lying to myself like it’s okay you let me down,_

_Used to be like us against the world, but baby, now_

_You and I, we’re just six underground,_

_Got me singing”_

Someone in the crowd started clapping with the slow beat and it caught on quickly, intoxicated Alice drinking in the energy around her and jumping back into the tail end of the song. She finished with a flourish and curtseyed her way off stage, drunkenly jumping the bottom two steps, only to be caught and hoisted up by an equally drunk Gideon.

“O.M.G. YOU are my new favorite Lady Lover!” He twirled her around in a tight squeeze and set her down as gently as he was able. He cocked an eyebrow suddenly, “Wait, you are gay, right? Cause the way you were trying to set the she-witch on fire, there has to be some history there.”

“Yes. Very much so, yes.” Alice chuckled at the wave of relief that came over him.

“Like full gay though, right? Not like Robin who’s more of a switc-” He was interrupted by a bump to the hip, the mentioned dark blonde appearing with three new shots and a mildly panicked look.

“Shush you! Drink your shot and go meddle somewhere else!” She playfully glared at her best friend, rolling her eyes with a smile when he bent down to place a smooch on her cheek as he swiped one of the shots.

“FINE. I’ll go see if I can find Belle, she promised to sing with me. Ta-Ta!” He waggled his fingers and staggered away, leaving the women alone and staring at each other.

“So, you and Drizella? Seems like quite the story there.” 

“Oh you have no idea. I’ll tell you tomorrow, right now I just want to dance!” Alice threw back her shot and pulled Robin by the arm out to the middle of the open space to join the masses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Alice sings is Ghost by ZZ Ward


	11. Chapter 11

Alice woke to the unfamiliar sound of light snoring in her ear and an arm around her waist, a hand laid flat against her stomach. Make that two hands. _‘Two hands? Wait, WHOSE hands?’_

Battling a raging headache and a bout of nausea, she slowly sat up and cracked her eyes open just enough to see her surroundings. She had no clue where she was, the room was decorated in a modern fashion and sparingly, with a few generic pictures adorning the walls and a simple desk/chair combo on the opposite side from the bed she was sitting in. The colors were neutral toned and from the keycard lock on the door, she was becoming more convinced she was in some sort of hotel room. A bit concerning, considering she was almost certain that Granny’s didn’t have rooms like this and she’d been told there weren’t any other hotels in the town. 

“Alice so help me if you don’t lay back down and stop thinking so loudly.” A groggy male voice came from her side and she looked over to find the owner of one of the two hands, a very disheveled-looking Gideon in only his undershirt and some sort of sweatpants with block lettering running down one leg. What surprised her was that Robin was on the other side of him, her arm stretched out as far as it could go to reach Alice over Gideon, completing their three-person spooning arrangement. The darker blonde was clad in a loose t-shirt, and terry cloth shorts that were certainly living up to their name. Alice blushed when she realized she was staring a little too intently at the amount of skin suddenly visible. Gideon tugged at the oversized t-shirt Alice was wearing _(“where the hell did that come from? And am I even wearing bottoms?!”)_ and she allowed herself to be pulled back down and into his waiting arms. Snuggling in, her hangover won the battle for consciousness and the last thing her mind registered was the feeling of Robin’s smaller hand worming its way past Gideon’s again and under the hem of her shirt to splay across the skin of Alice’s hip.

When she woke the second time it was to hushed arguing, and a glass of something cold shoved into her hands almost absently as she sat up, eyes still closed. Her headache had abated for the most part, now just a dull overall hurt. 

“-could have just taken her back to Granny’s!”

“You were pretty insistent that we were all too drunk to go anywhere and practically dragged us down three flights of stairs to the comped rooms for staff and bullied our way into one.”

“That doesn’t sound like me.”

“Yeah, well, here we are. And to top it all off, you refused to get into the bed with me and Alice unless I agreed to sleep in the middle, adamant that it would be ‘improper’ somehow. So instead of tracking down Rufio and getting _my_ gay on, I had to be _your_ chaperone because you can’t admit that you would rather be sleeping in a double bed with your best friend and blatant new crush, than go sleep with your husband-to-be. Not to mention whatever it was I walked in on when I came out of the bathroom last night.”

“Not true! He wasn’t even at the party last night! How was I supposed to track him down?”

Even in her hungover state, it wasn’t lost on Alice that Robin didn’t respond to the crush accusation. Or whatever that last comment was.

“He LIVES in this building! We could have dropped you off there and Alice and I could have found our way back to our respective sleeping quarters.”

“I- I just wanted to make sure you were both alright.” Robin sounded defeated, her arguments exhausted, and at that moment Alice wondered if maybe she wasn’t just making Robin’s life harder being friends with her somehow. She took a sip from the pro-offered cup and was grateful to find cold water to quench her very dry throat. Her movement must have caught the attention of the other two as she felt the bed dip next to her and a light hand rub her back. “Hey, you okay? You pretty much drank the bar last night.”

It took a couple tries to speak, her throat still like sandpaper. “Uh, yeah. I think. May have to strangle the little man in my head making a mess of my noggin though.”

Her two companions chuckled and Alice finally opened her eyes. Gideon was in the desk chair, tilting it backwards to touch the desk behind it, and Robin was to her right, so close that Alice could feel the heat radiating off her. Upon seeing her own legs bare, the Jones girl became acutely aware that either she undressed herself or one of them had to do it. She let out a groan.

“Oh god, please tell me I wasn’t so far gone I couldn’t undress myself.” She pulled her legs up inside the oversized t-shirt like a child and buried her face in her hands. “And where are we? And where exactly did this horrid shirt come from?”

“Ha well, first, this is one of the company rooms usually rented out to business people coming into town to meet with the Tremaines. We’re still in the same building as last night. As for the shirt, the rooms are stocked in company merchandise for associates to take with them, like free advertisements. Hence the very large ‘Tremaine INC’ plastered across your chest.” At his last words, Alice whipped her gaze downwards. Whether it was the motion or the abhorrent words emblazoned on her that caused her head to spin a bit she didn’t know, but the nausea reared its ugly head once more. Robin was closer in an instant, steadying her and waiting patiently for Alice to reopen her eyes. The Jones girl inhaled deeply, resisting the urge to bury into the arms of the woman next to her.

“And how come Robs has bottoms but I’m left with just my knickers?” Robin’s cheeks pinked at Alice’s question and she turned her gaze toward the ceiling, presumably knowing the reason.

“Don’t know if either of you remember, but there was quite the discussion about clothing last night. The rooms are generically stocked and when we only found two shirts, a pair of joggers and a pair of shorts, there was debate about who should wear what. You both were firm that I was to wear the joggers, something about boy parts, and Robin argued that you should wear the shorts and she would just wear her dress to bed. But you insisted that you were small enough to wear the oversized t-shirt with no pants,” Gideon motioned to Alice’s shirt, which to be fair, did swamp her enough to house her legs curled up inside comfortably. “And you loudly told Robin that you would sleep naked if you had to so she wouldn’t have to sleep in her restrictive dress.”

Alice nodded slowly, not looking the other woman’s way for fear she might give away the embarrassment she was feeling. After a moment, she thought of another pressing question. “Where is my dress?”

Robin made an odd strangled noise and stood from the bed, releasing Alice’s shoulders and taking all her warmth with her. She made her way over to the far corner of the room and picked up a pile of floral cloth Alice faintly recognized as the remains of her borrowed dress.

“I tore it? Dorothy’s going to hate me! A stranger borrows her dress and destroys it within six hours? Fuck.” Alice dropped her head back into her hands and groaned. It was silent for a minute, then Gideon cleared his throat.

“Uh. _You_ didn’t tear it.”

Both women jerked their eyes to the only male in the room. While Alice’s was painted with confusion, Robin’s was covered in an odd expression of half-remembrance.

“Explain.”

“Yes. Please do.”

They stared expectantly at Gideon, and he swiped his large hand through his bed-head. After a few moments he inhaled loudly. The Jones girl had a nagging feeling she knew what was going to come out of his mouth. “Robin did.”

Alice’s eyebrows were doing their damnedest to join her hairline and Robin ducked her head. Vague memories started coming back: the two woman stumbling down the hallway hand in hand, Gideon chasing after them; doing a little victory dance when they managed to unlock the door on the seventh try only to have it lock again before they could open the door; Gideon bogarting the bathroom until they threatened to pee on his sport coat. It all started getting blurry after that, but one memory lingered in flashes: _Robin’s hands burning a trail down her arms, her face so close to Alice’s neck that her lips ghosted porcelain skin with each labored breath, the floral dress’ zipper getting stuck and Robin jerking it open the rest of the way open, the ripping sound causing them both to erupt in new giggles_. 

“Oh no.” Alice’s eyes went wide, the implications of what may have happened hitting her all at once and she bolted up from the double bed, temporarily disregarding her lack of clothing in favor of putting some distance between herself and the others. “I-I should go. Hope is probably worried sick about me.”

She was panicking, and she knew she was about to spiral and needed to be anywhere but right there. She refused to let people she barely knew see her become what the schoolyard bullies had called ‘mad as a hatter’. Alice started for the door, only just stopping as her hand grasped the sleek metal door handle to her escape. Her mind was starting to scramble, the past and present colliding. _Flash: Drizzy holding her hand under the stars on the lakefront, promising she’d always love her. Flash: Robin smiling at her as Alice piled beans on her toast, pretending to be disgusted. Flash: Walking into the apartment she shared with her girlfriend, a foreign jacket slung over a barstool. Flash: Robin pulling her into the hotel room, head thrown back in laughter. Flash: Blindly rushing out of her apartment building, eyes full of tears_. She needed Hope. “For FUCKS SAKE. I don’t have any fucking trousers!”

“It’s alright, mate. I’ll just change back to mine and you can wear the joggers back to Granny’s, yeah?” Gideon shuffled past a frozen Alice and plucked his slacks from the crumpled pile of clothing near the bathroom door. He stilled in the threshold to the bathroom, eyes trained on Alice for any acknowledgement she heard him. After a moment, there was an almost imperceptible nod. “Brilliant, I’ll be out in a mo.”

The silence was deafening. Alice closed her eyes, avoiding the soft green she knew was boring holes into her from across the hotel room. _‘Breath. In and out. Hold it together. Find Granny’s. Find Hope.’_

“Alice?” Robin’s voice was tiny, a whisper floating on air. “Alice, talk to me. I want to help.”

“I won’t be that person. I can’t.” 

There was a muffled grunt from the bathroom and a soft material was placed in the bright blonde’s hands. She shoved her legs in the joggers and tried hard to forget that two practically strangers had seen her in her underwear at best. 

“I need to go.” Alice slipped on her flats before rushing out into the unfamiliar hallway and down the stairs until she was spit out on the ground floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so sorry it's short but I have another coming soon! I'm trying to get back to updating on a regular basis (and trying not to get distracted by new projects)


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